by Nina Bangs
He didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Stop.”
Jude obeyed, stomping on the brake.
Jenna braced her hand against the back of Al’s seat. “Jeez, thanks for the warning.”
With no explanation, Al shoved his door open and got out. Then he leaned into the open window. “Stay here. Both of you. Do not even think about getting out of the car.” He speared Jude with a hard stare. “Don’t let her do anything stupid.”
“Jerk.” Unfortunately, he’d disappeared into a small park they’d been passing and hadn’t heard her opinion of him.
Jude pulled to the curb, put the car in park, and closed the window. Then he cranked up the heat.
“You’re my hero.” Jenna meant it.
He turned and flashed her a grin. Being amazed at every great-looking guy she met in Philly was starting to get old. But she couldn’t deny the facts. If she used her fave dessert, ice cream, to compare the men she’d met, Jude would be smooth dark chocolate. Long dark hair that flowed over broad shoulders, eyes so dark they seemed black, and a face that had all the necessary angles to capture shadows and women’s imaginations. And Al? Al was Rocky Road. Delicious but never predictable.
She was busy trying to decide what flavor Fin was when the shouts and screams began.
Her first thought was that saving souls sounded like a violent business. Her second thought was that maybe Al might need their help.
“Believe me, he doesn’t need our help.”
Startled, she met Jude’s gaze and quickly looked away. Something in his eyes seemed to have changed. They were still dark, but a hungry gleam had crept into them. And wait, how had he known what she was thinking?
He laughed softly. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t reading your mind. Your expression said it all.”
“I thought helping the downtrodden was a more peaceful business. Either one of the down-and-outters is beating our guy to a pulp”—not very likely—“or else Al is making a little too compelling an argument for change. Either way, I think we should take a look.”
“No.”
Okay, now she was ticked. Her business was gathering info and crafting it into an interesting story. Well, a story was happening out in the darkness, and she wasn’t there. But she would be. “Come on, Jude. I want to find out what’s happening. If you won’t come with me, I’ll go alone.”
The click of the remote locks was her only answer.
“I don’t believe you!” But she didn’t get a chance to give him a piece of her mind, because suddenly a shadow emerged from the stand of trees.
Distracted from her mad, she glanced out her window. And froze.
Oh. My. God! Whatever was coming out of that park was so huge she had to look up to get the full effect. It wasn’t close enough yet to see details, but she recognized the shape. Every person who ever saw Jurassic Park recognized that shape. As she stared in unblinking horror, she could feel the vibration as massive feet brought it closer and closer and closer…
Jenna screamed. Not a polite ladylike squeak, but a full-throated bellow.
“Son-of-a-bitch. What the hell does he think he’s doing?”
Jude’s response made no sense at all, but neither did the monstrous thing bearing down on them out of the darkness.
“Drive! Get us the hell out of here.”
Instead of obeying her, Jude did the unthinkable. He shut down the engine, pocketed the keys, unlocked the doors, and got out of the car.
“Are you crazy?” Her shriek was drowned out by an animal roar like nothing she’d ever heard before or wanted to hear again.
In response, he leaned back into the car. But he was a different Jude. And this one scared the crap out of her. The eyes that a few minutes ago had promised sensual nirvana now glowed red. Then he opened his mouth and hissed at her. He sure didn’t have those sharp fangs the last time he opened his mouth.
“Stay here,” he ordered, and ran around the front of the car to confront the thing that now towered over them.
“Get your fucking head screwed back on! Stop right there!” Whatever Jude was, smart wasn’t part of it. He was about to get either torn apart or stomped on.
She was in a waking nightmare. Jenna had always wondered what she’d do in a crisis situation. Would she calm everyone around her while she called the bomb squad, talked the jumper off the ledge, or saved the woman who’d fallen onto the tracks? She’d always liked to think she’d keep her cool and do the right thing.
Jenna panicked. Pure and simply freaking panicked. Her breaths came in great wheezing gasps as she flung open the car door and ran. Wildly and without any thought about where she was going. Her pounding heart was so loud she was sure the creature would be able to track her by that alone. She imagined the thud, thud of its massive feet gaining on her.
She didn’t think. Thoughts were beyond her. Run, run, run. The words took on a rhythm in her mind as she matched her pumping legs to the cadence. If she could just run fast enough, far enough, the nightmare would go away.
And then, unexpectedly, there was light. One of those all-night convenience stores, a beacon in a lost world. Finally, the first thoughts trickled into her mind.
There was only one person she trusted in this strange city. She had to call Kelly. Oh, God, she’d left her purse in the car. Frantically, she tried to think of a lie to tell the clerk. She glanced behind her. Would the monster follow her here? Would it hurt anyone in the store?
Jenna forced herself to breathe more slowly, channeled inner quiet to her completely berserk mind, and tried to think calm thoughts as she pushed open the store’s door.
She didn’t have to try hard to look traumatized as she walked to the checkout counter. “Please, you’ve got to help me.” A monster is chasing me. “Someone just mugged me. Took my purse. Can I use your phone to call my sister?” Did she sound pitiful enough?
“Not going to call the cops?”
She shook her head. What would it accomplish? If what she’d seen was real, lots of people would have called the police by now. They’d be too late to save Al and Jude anyway. Al. Her heart gave a primal scream of despair. What had happened to him, and why did she care so much?
It was a testament to the neighborhood that the clerk didn’t look shocked. “Shouldn’t be on the street this time of night, lady.” His expression said she was too stupid to live. But at least he let her use the store phone. “Make it short.”
She offered him a watery smile—when had the tears started?—and quickly punched in Kelly’s number. Please, please have your phone turned on.
“Hello?”
The familiar sound of her sister’s voice almost made Jenna’s knees buckle.
“Kelly, you have to come get me.” She couldn’t keep the panic from sliding into her voice.
“Where are you, sis? I got your text message. I had my phone turned off during the meeting.”
Good old Kelly. She didn’t waste precious time asking what happened. “I don’t know. I heard Jude say we were in North Philly.” Jenna glanced at the clerk. “Address?”
He gave it to her, and she passed it on to Kelly.
“Ty and I are on our way. Stay where you are. Will you be okay until we get there?”
“Sure. But hurry. I’ll explain when I see you.” Now that she’d calmed down a little, reason told her that neither Jude nor Al—if he was still alive—knew where she’d gone. And since the monster hadn’t shown up yet, she felt a little safer.
Jenna ended the call and handed the phone back to the clerk.
He propped his elbows on the counter and studied her. “Been lots of homicides around here lately. Weird stuff. You’re lucky he just took your purse.” Unspoken was the belief that someone stupid enough to be on the streets alone after dark didn’t deserve much luck.
Jenna just nodded and wandered over to the window to watch for Kelly or anything else that might come out of the darkness.
Her brain had finally returned to a functioning organ, and she allowed her
self to think about what had happened. What had happened was impossible. Had she just gone through a mental breakdown? Was everything some demented brain burp? No, she felt normal. You’ll never feel normal again.
Every story has a past. And the past often explained the present. Jenna focused on everything that had happened since Kelly first met Ty. All the unexplained little things that had made Jenna suspicious from the beginning. Up until tonight, she’d been leaning toward Fin and the others being part of organized crime. She should be so lucky.
She shook her head to clear away the stuff that didn’t make sense. Couldn’t do it. Because to night nothing made sense.
Were Jude and Al still alive? Just thinking about Al being dead made her stomach flip and then drop. Nausea rose on a wave of dread. What had happened to him? And why had she panicked and left him behind? She’d failed him.
And what about Jude? Had she really seen what she thought she’d seen, or were the glowing eyes and fangs all a result of an imagination gone wild? She shuddered.
The story she might have was only an afterthought right now. If she was ready to accept what she’d seen as real. She didn’t know. God, she just didn’t know.
It felt as though she’d been looking out at the parking lot for hours, trying to make sense of the madness, when Ty finally pulled up to the store.
Jenna’s relief left her weak and shaky. She wanted to fling herself into her sister’s arms and bawl like the baby she felt she was. In all her imaginings, she’d never believed that in a time of crisis she’d run away, abandoning another human to God knew what. She’d have to come to terms with her new diminished self-image. But not now.
Not wanting the clerk to hear any part of the coming conversation, Jenna ran from the store to meet her sister. Kelly flung her arms around Jenna and hugged her tight.
“What happened?”
Jenna stepped away from Kelly and waved Ty back into the car. She climbed into the back while her sister returned to the passenger seat.
Then both Ty and Kelly turned to stare at her.
“Let’s hear it.” Ty looked grim.
How could she tell them what she’d seen without both of them looking at her like she was crazy, without her feeling like she was crazy? But if Jenna trusted anything, she trusted Kelly’s belief in her. This time you have a whopper to believe.
As calmly as she could, Jenna told her story. When she finished, there was a charged moment of silence.
Then Ty exploded. “Damn them to hell! The dumb shits. What the fuck were they thinking?”
Jenna cringed. She never cringed. Not even when the main crazy in one of her stories had told her that giant bugs the size of rats were crawling through the sewer lines and would soon pop up in her toilet.
Kelly’s reaction was more subdued. “Oh, no. They didn’t.”
This wasn’t the reaction Jenna had expected. For once in her life, she had nothing to say. She fell back against the seat with a startled oomph as Ty peeled out of the parking lot.
“Get Al on his cell,” Ty threw at Kelly as he drove way too fast in the general direction Jenna had indicated she’d run from.
Other than a terse, “Where are you?” from Kelly, Jenna didn’t get any other information, but at least it seemed as though Al was alive. Thank you, God.
A few minutes later, Ty pulled up to the curb at the park where Jude and Al waited. Panic shadowed Jenna, a sense that something horrific still lurked in the darkness, ready to pounce.
“What about Jude? Don’t let him into the car.” What if Ty and Kelly didn’t believe her story? Panic slithered closer. Her gaze darted from tree to tree, searching for the menacing shadow and finding none. Self-doubt crept in. Had there ever been a shadow? Had Jude ever had glowing red eyes and fangs? Was she the victim of a psychotic event?
“They’re both getting in.” Ty seemed definite about that.
“They have their own car.” Jenna hoped she sounded calm, rational.
“Not anymore.” Ty sounded a lot less calm and rational than Jenna did.
“What?” For the first time, Jenna glanced at the car Jude had been driving. The front end was crushed. Flat. She swallowed hard. Ty didn’t give her a chance to ask any questions.
“We’ll discuss it back at the condo.” His voice was clipped, angry.
Kelly shifted in her seat so she could look back at Jenna. Worry shadowed her sister’s eyes. “I should’ve talked to you sooner. But I didn’t know you were going out with Jude and Al to night. You should’ve told me.” She quickly waved away Jenna’s response. “No, it’s not your fault. It’s mine. I should’ve told the family when I was still back in Houston. But I thought I’d have lots of time to work it out.”
Told her what? For the love of God, told her what? Jenna was too confused, too upset at everyone, to make any reply. She just nodded.
But when Al pulled open the door and slid in beside her and Jude went around the car and got in on the other side, panic shook her. She clasped her hands over her stomach to hold everything in.
“Did anyone see you?” Ty scanned the darkness.
“Don’t think so. At least no one came out or called the cops. Not surprising in this neighborhood.” Jude sounded matter-of-fact about the whole thing.
Al watched her from eyes filled with emotions that tore at her—rage, regret, sadness. None of them made sense.
She didn’t think she could even look at Jude. She would’ve sat in Al’s lap to avoid touching Jude if she wasn’t almost as afraid of Al. Because whatever had happened in that park had involved him as well. And where had the monster gone?
“Do you need a cleanup?” Ty sounded like he was suppressing a lot of anger.
“Yes.” Al didn’t elaborate.
Kelly punched in another number on her cell. No greetings. She just said, “Cleanup,” and then gave the address.
No one talked for the rest of the way back. Jenna wasn’t going to be the one to speak first. Besides, she had too many thoughts racing around in her head to concentrate on a conversation.
“Look at me, Jenna.” Jude’s voice was low, compelling, and she found herself turning to stare at him even as her brain screamed at her not to look.
“Leave her alone.” Al’s voice was a rumble of savage threat.
Jude shrugged. “I was just trying to help.”
“You can help by shutting up until we get to the condo.” This came from Ty.
“Watch it, human.” Jude was all smooth menace. “Respect who I am.”
Human? Jenna couldn’t even begin to process the meaning of that one word. Her memory laughed hysterically and whispered, “Yes, you can.”
Now that Jenna was actually facing Jude, she forced herself to study him. He looked like the same gorgeous man she’d met a few hours ago. He smiled. No fangs. She relaxed just a little. But she knew in her heart of hearts that only the calm presence of her sister kept her from screaming like a banshee. And that’s about all she’d be able to do hemmed in by both men.
Jenna should’ve felt relieved when they reached the condo, but she could only think that inside were more men like Al and Jude. She forced herself to climb from the car and not run away from all of them. When Al offered his hand to help her out, she pointedly ignored it. No touching. She didn’t know why that was important. He wasn’t going to infect her with whatever he had.
The uncomfortable silence lasted all the way up in the elevator. The mirrored walls reflected everyone’s tense faces back at her. Thank heaven Kelly stood beside her. Kelly wouldn’t be so calm if there was danger anywhere near. Jenna had to believe that.
Fin met them at the door. And if Jenna thought she’d felt fear earlier, it was nothing compared to the mindless terror she felt looking into those silver eyes. Something cold and merciless moved in them. She shivered.
He swept his gaze over them. “All of you. In the media room.” As Jenna started to follow Kelly, Fin put a hand on her arm. “You, come with me.”
Kelly swu
ng to face Fin. “I should be the one to tell her.”
“You gave up that right when you put it off so long that this happened.”
Fin’s voice dripped with cold fury. Even Kelly seemed to wilt beneath it.
Ty joined his wife, pulling her to his side in a protective gesture. “Don’t blame Kelly. This isn’t something that’s easy to explain. Besides, you’re the one who invited Jenna here.”
Jenna felt like a volleyball being lobbed from one side to the other. “Hey, guys, I’m right here.” She looked at her sister. “It’s okay. Fin can do the telling. He’s such a cold bastard that he’ll keep me from going all emotional.” There, problem solved, with the added bonus of letting Fin know what she thought of him.
There was a long silence, and Jenna got the weird feeling that some kind of conversation was going on without her.
Finally, Ty turned toward the media room again. Kelly stepped up to Jenna and hugged her. “Everything will be fine. Listen to Fin and what he says. He’s telling the truth. And I’m sorry.”
Sorry for what? She asked herself that question all the way to Fin’s office. And what an office it was. Huge with soaring ceilings and a bank of windows that looked out over Philly. The lights of the city looked bright and magical. She glanced at Fin as he took his seat behind his massive oak desk. If the lights were bright and magical, then Fin was dark and demonic, even with his silver persona. She sighed. Okay, time to shut down her imagination. She sat stiffly in a chair facing him across the endless expanse of his desk.
Instead of facing her, he swiveled his chair so he was looking out the windows at the night. “I had a better condo in Houston. Higher. It felt like I was in the stars.”
What a whimsical thing for him to say. Didn’t fit his image.
“And what is my image, Jenna?” He didn’t turn to face her but continued to stare out the windows.
Shock clogged her throat, taking away her breath and her voice.
Fin waited patiently for her to answer.
She was finally able to croak, “You read my mind.”
“Yes. But I asked you a question.”
Slowly, her heart calmed. After what had happened at the park to night, this didn’t seem worthy of total collapse. Besides, she’d had a demonstration of his mind-reading ability last night. She’d just chosen to forget it. “I think you’re cold, calculating, and hiding emotions that would probably scare the crap out of me. I also think you must be incredibly powerful to lead the kind of men I saw today. Now will you tell me the truth about all this?” Good, anger pushed some of the fear aside.